How to Catch a Polar Bear

Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster

Get the Discussion Guide (pdf)

Nick, Ace, and Penny are looking forward to the best summer ever at the zoo! Paper routes, polar bears, frozen custard–and lots and lots of monkeys–are just a hint of what’s in store, in this funny middle-grade novel set in 1948 Milwaukee.

Reviews:

“Wonderfully imaginative with just a touch of earnestness.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Funny and heartwarming.” — Booklist

“Simply delightful, treat yourself to How to Catch a Polar Bear (and some frozen custard) this summer!” — Staff Pick, Boswell Books, Milwaukee

“This hilarious historical novel is the perfect summer read.” — Staff Pick, Parnassus Books, Nashville

Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster

Get the Discussion Guide (pdf)

Awards and Honors

Children’s Choice Book Award nominee
2025-2026
Iowa Association of School Librarians

Outstanding Book of the Year
Wisconsin Library Association, 2024

District-wide Battle of the Books title 2024-25
Naperville, Illinois

School’s Out: 10 Middle-Grade Reads for Summer
— Kirkus Reviews

44 Hottest Summer Reads of 2023
—Kirkus Reviews

Noteworthy Picture Book and Novel Sequels: June 2023
— Publishers Weekly

Dog Days of Summer: 12 New Reads for the Young & Young at Heart
— Parnassus Books, Nashville

 

Behind the Scenes

Many bits and pieces of How to Catch a Polar Bear are based on true events:

  • There was once a real-life broadcast from the zoo in Milwaukee. It was a TV broadcast (not radio, as in the book), and it took place right on Monkey Island! (And here’s the funniest part: I found this old footage after I wrote about a radio broadcast from the zoo.) Here’s a link to a very short video of that TV broadcast. (Video is from the WTMJ Newsfilm Collection, courtesy of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Libraries, WTMJ, and the Wisconsin Historical Society.)
  • Here’s another video, of a paperboy delivering newspapers on his bicycle sometime in the 1950s. Pay close attention at around 0:35 on the video. Can you see that newspaper curve around the porch post and onto the porch? Pretty impressive! (Video courtesy of David Hoffman)

On the Air and in Print:

  • The Week Junior (March 1, 2024 issue) celebrates Read Across America Day with this list of “50 Books for 50 States” — Nick and friends are proud to represent Wisconsin!
  • Listen to a conversation about the real-life events behind the book on WUWM, Milwaukee’s NPR station.
  • Watch and listen to me reading a chapter from How to Catch a Polar Bear on YouTube.